I’ve predicted that fast cheap transportation will
transform farming and gardening into a local business and cultural bonanza:
The February 5, 2014 NY Times article The
Seeds of a New Generation shows this is already starting in the Midwest.
Planting an acre of corn yields the farmer about $284, but
growing apples instead yields about $2,000, and growing vegetables in plastic
tunnels can yield $100,000. So why aren’t Midwest farmers already doing this in
a big way? The answer is demand and distribution: California has sewn up the vegetable market with its
extensive infrastructure of transportation and distribution.
A
host of factors is changing the market: demand for fresh-grown, less expensive,
local foods by restaurants, school cafeterias and locavores; the drought in California;
the desire to reduce oil use and emissions from transportation; a glut of corn; and
new marketing strategies, including CSA’s: Autonomous Transportation and CSA’s; Autonomous Transportation and “Crowd Sourced Agriculture". I predict that new apps on the Internet linking farmers and gardeners
directly with consumers will be a key factor in accelerating this transformation.
Now farmers and gardeners will be able to grow a
cornucopia of foods to satisfy the widely varying tastes and needs of different
people. Instead of a few varieties of tomatoes and apples, there are hundreds or even thousands of “heritage” varieties. For example, I‘ve already blogged about how allergies and
sensitivities to corn require an entirely different set of foods from what is
commonly available because corn in one form or another is in almost all foods,
whether it’s a listed ingredient used to sweeten (syrup) or thicken (starch),
or unlisted in packaging, preservatives (ascorbic acid) or fed to the animals.
[Food Intolerance – Roles for Autonomous Transportation; Food-Specific Communities]
Professor
Nabhan has linked the loss of biodiversity to the loss of culture
diversity. He writes
that there were once 15,000 different apples grown and eaten in the US, but
just one-fifth are available now and many of those are at risk. “Apple orchards were once fixtures of American
communities, typically growing varieties that were well-adapted to local
conditions. With the consolidation of farming and the advent of better ways to
ship, many small orchards disappeared in the decades after World War II.”
“The children of corn farmers are coming back to the
farm, and carving out 5 or 10 acres to grow fruits and vegetables,” said Craig
A. Chase, the local food and farm coordinator at Iowa State University. “They
can easily make $30,000 to $40,000 a year.”
Imagine what will happen when Autonomous Vehicles get
this trend into high gear: AutonomousVehicles at Work – Delivering Tomatoes; AutonomousVehicles at Work – Delivering Fruit & Vegetables. I'm looking forward to eating a wider variety of fresher, tastier, healthier foods from my friends and neighbors who like to grow things as a hobby or an avocation.
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